The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:
Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
HausaCommon Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 10:13:
Kupsabiny: “But you planted evil and harvested persecution. You yourselves were stupid. You trusted in your strength and your soldiers.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “But you have planted the seeds of iniquity, and harvested the fruit of injustice. You have eaten the fruit of deception. For you put your confidence in your power, and because you have put your hope in your many soldiers,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “‘But you (plur.) have-planted wickedness, so you (plur.) also harvested wickedness. You (plur.) lied, and that is the fruit of your (plur.) wickedness. And because you (plur.) have-trusted in your (plur.) ability, like for instance your (plur.) many soldiers,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “You plant seeds and harvest the crops and eat them; but what I consider that you have really done is that you have planted wicked things and harvested evil things and eaten the results of the lies that you have told. Instead of trusting in me, you have depended on/trusted in your own power and in your many soldiers.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
In the first part of this verse the farming imagery continues. God commanded goodness (10.12), but Israel practiced evil. In the Hebrew text of this verse the connections are not clear, since it has only one conjunction (rendered Because). Good News Translation makes the first connection clear by adding “But instead.” New International Version and New Living Translation also add “But.”
You have plowed iniquity: The verb plowed follows the Hebrew. This is the very first thing a farmer does if he wants to have a crop. So from the very beginning Israel has sinned. Plowing in Palestine is immediately followed by sowing. So Good News Translation and New International Version are justified in using “planted,” which is the figure used in English for beginning evil. Translators have to consider the understanding of plowed in the receptor culture and use a term that shows the earliest thing a farmer does to prepare for a crop. New Living Translation uses a slightly different agricultural verb, “cultivated.” The Hebrew word for iniquity has connotations of breaking the law, so “lawlessness” is a good translation option.
You have reaped injustice: Because Israel has started with evil, it now suffers from its own evil. Reaped renders the same Hebrew verb used in 10.12. It is a general term for cutting a plant in order to get what one needs from the plant. A related term in Arabic seems to give the sense of grasping several stalks together and cutting them at once, as when harvesting wheat, but it probably is better to use a general term for gathering a harvest. The Hebrew word for injustice refers to people being treated in an unfair manner, not according to the law. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “iniquity,” but that term is more general. Good News Translation‘s “its harvest” is not very clear. This rendering sounds rather neutral, while a clear negative idea is intended. According to this line, a result of Israel’s evil and lawlessness was that they now suffer from their own evil as they experience more and worse evil, especially in things that they may feel they do not deserve. But they do deserve it.
You have eaten the fruit of lies expresses the final part of the process of planting, reaping, and now eating. The Israelites have spoken lies, and now they experience worse trouble as a result. The text does not state to whom the lies were spoken. It could be both to God and to their neighbors. In view of the implied connections with the law in the preceding lines, this word could also refer to their covenant relationship. The Hebrew word for lies is rendered “treachery” in 7.3 (see comments there). Here it may be best to leave it as a general expression without saying exactly to whom or about what the lies were spoken. A term such as “deception” seems to be the best option.
Because you have trusted in your chariots and in the multitude of your warriors: These two lines are rightly taken by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation as giving the reason for the attack threatened in the next verse, so they can be translated in a way that continues the sentence into that verse. Because translates the Hebrew word ki. Here it emphatically introduces some of the wrongs that Israel has done, leading to the result described in the next verse. However, this connector can also be taken as introducing the grounds for the behavior described in the preceding three lines (so NET Bible; see also the model below). If this is done, it is not necessary to start a new sentence here.
Instead of chariots, the Hebrew text has “way” (King James Version). Chariots (also Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible) follows the Septuagint, and this meaning seems to be a better parallel to warriors and seems to fit better with the context. However, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project favors the Hebrew text (a {B} decision, but not unanimous, according to Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament‘s understanding is that Israel was not known for its many chariots the way Egypt was, for example. Other commentators differ strongly with this view. Following the Hebrew, “your way” may refer to their political way of doing things. Another interpretation of the Hebrew word is “strength” (New International Version) or “power” (New Revised Standard Version). Along with trusting in their warriors, the Israelites were also trusting in their own “way” of doing things and in their own military strength, instead of trusting in God.
The Hebrew term for warriors refers to “mighty men,” who are more than just ordinary soldiers. However, not all languages are able to make such distinctions.
A translation model for this verse is:
• However, you have plowed lawlessness,
you have reaped injustice,
you have eaten the fruit of deception,
because you have trusted in your strength,
in your many mighty soldiers.
Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
In this verse, Hosea continues to speak directly to the people of Israel. These verse parts are another saying about sowing and reaping. It contrasts with the saying in 10:12a–c. There, the saying figuratively reminds the people of Israel that the LORD requires them to be righteous and loving. But here the saying describes how the people actually lived. They were wicked and evil.
Notice the parallel parts:
13a You have plowedwickedness
13b and reapedinjustice;
13c you have eatenthe fruit of lies.
10:13a–b
You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice: This is a metaphor. It compares people who live in wicked ways to people who plow (and by implication plant seeds) and then harvest a crop. People who plow wickedness will harvest a crop of evil.
Here are some ways to translate this metaphor:
• Keep the metaphor. For example:
You have planted wickedness and harvested evil. (God’s Word) -or-
You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice (English Standard Version)
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
You have been like people who plant wickedness and harvest a crop of evil.
• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
You have lived sinfully and are now full of evil.
In Hebrew, the contrast between 13a–c and 12a–c is implied. Some versions make it explicit by adding the word “but” to introduce this contrast. Use a natural way in your language to indicate this contrast.
You have plowed wickedness: This phrase contrasts with “sow for yourselves righteousness” in 12a. The Hebrew word for “plow” here probably implies sowing in addition to plowing. One method of growing crops was to scatter the seed and then plow it into the ground. Many versions use only the word plowed, but it may be better to use a word or phrase that more clearly shows the contrast to “sow.” For example:
cultivated (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
planted (Good News Translation)
The Hebrew word for wickedness means to do wrong. It is the opposite of the righteousness that God commanded them to sow in 12a.
and reaped injustice: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “you have reaped injustice/badness.” The phrase contrasts with “reap love” in 12b. It indicates that injustice is the result of wicked behavior. The word injustice is very similar to the Hebrew word for wickedness in 13a. Both words mean to do what is wrong.
10:13c
you have eaten the fruit of lies: This clause is part of the metaphor in 13a–b that compares the people of Israel to people who plant seeds and then harvest a crop. In this clause, the people of Israel are compared to people who eat fruit of deception/lies.
Here are some ways to translate this clause:
• Keep the metaphor. For example:
you have eaten the fruit of lies (New Revised Standard Version)
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
It is as if deception has been your food.
• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
You have been deceitful in all you do.
In Hebrew, the word lies refers to either the act of lying or the lies that result from that action. To eat deception/lies is probably a figurative way to say that lies and deceit characterized the people’s conduct. Deception was normal behavior for them. See Hosea 11:12.
There are two main ways to understand the phrase fruit of lies. Either option is valid.
• The phrase fruit of lies means fruit that consists of deception/lies. The deception/fruit that Israel eats is the product of Israel’s wickedness and evil. For example:
You have eaten lies, which is the fruit that your wickedness produced.
• The phrase fruit of lies means fruit that comes/results from deception/lying. The fruit that Israel eats is the product of deception/lies. For example:
You have eaten the fruit that your lies produced. (God’s Word)
10:13d
Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your mighty men: There are two main ways to understand the relationship of this clause to the clauses that surround it:
(1) This clause is related to the clauses that follow it. It gives the reason for the coming destruction (see 10:14). For example:
13d Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors, 14a therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed (English Standard Version)
(2) This clause is related to the clause that precedes it. It explains the deception/lies that Israel has eaten. For example:
13c You have eaten the fruit of lies—13d trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe. (New Living Translation (2004))
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions and commentaries.
Because: This word introduces the reason for the destruction that 10:14 tells about. Use a natural way in your language to introduce this reason.
you have trusted in your own way: In Hebrew, the pronoun you is plural in 13a–c. However, it is singular in this clause. Hosea may be thinking of the nation as one unit. Translate the pronoun here and in 10:14 in a way that is natural in your language.
The word trusted means to place confidence in a person or an object.
way: There are textual and interpretation issues with the Hebrew word for strength:
(1) The Masoretic Text has “you have trusted in your own way.” Here way should be interpreted as military strength or power. For example:
you have trusted in your power (New Revised Standard Version)
(2) The LXX has “you have trusted in your chariots.” For example:
you have trusted in your chariots (Revised English Bible)
(3) The Masoretic Text has “you have trusted in your own way.” In this context, it may refer to the way that the nation of Israel conducts its affairs. For example:
you have trusted in your way (New American Standard Bible)
You may follow option (1) or (2). Both options make good sense in the context of military strength and the following reference to warriors. The Display will follow option (1).
and in the multitude of your mighty men: In Hebrew, this phrase does not begin with the word and. The Berean Standard Bible and some other versions supply it. The absence of this word in Hebrew probably indicates that Israel’s strength consisted in their mighty men. The mighty men were not a separate item in addition to their strength.
Here are some ways to express the more accurate meaning:
…trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe. (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
you have trusted in your power, in your great numbers of warriors (adapted from New Jerusalem Bible)
The Hebrew word for “mighty man” means “strong or valiant man,” or “military hero.”
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
soldiers (New Century Version) -or-
mighty men (King James Version) -or-
powerful forces (Contemporary English Version)
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